Ma ma, da da

Good morning!

Well, our little guy is now 9 months old. He recently starting saying a lot more new sounds...he babbles ma ma, da da, ga ga, etc. Another tooth broke through last week...he now has 7. We took him on his first bike ride earlier this month. We turned his carseat around yesterday because his legs are so long (who does he get that from?!). We have also been feeding him little pieces of our food. It's fun to see him pick stuff up and put it in his mouth.

No, he is still not crawling. He prefers assisted walking/running. Perhaps crawling is just going to be skipped for this kid?! He does speed everywhere in his walker though, so his legs are definitely strong. He loves playing outside and watching the neighbor kids. He laughs a lot lately...especially at flyswatters and when we tap him on the head with (new) diapers.

Brian's marathon is next Sunday. He is a little nervous for it as it's been tight training for a marathon in one month. I haven't run in a few days as I somehow caught yet ANOTHER cold. I guess the changing weather doesn't agree with me. I hope the boys don't get it.

The trees are finally turning colors and it's beautiful. We're excited for Halloween. Caden is going to be a monkey. Keep your eye out for more pictures!

Bath time is always fun

Big yawn (Cute outfit from Gramma Bernitta)

First bike ride

Momma's little boy is growing up

First pair of "big boy" PJs (Note the USMC bulldog)

DVDs are a favorite toy

Big toothy grin in his England outfit (Thanks Em!)

Naylor's Beach Triathlon

Camping with Caden was a new experience, to say the least! It was a little chillier than we would have liked. He woke up around 2:30 a.m. and wasn't very happy. I took him out of the pack and play and he snuggled with momma the rest of the night. The other difficult aspect was heating up his food and keeping it warm. Apparently Caden is not a fan of cold food! But all in all, it was not too bad. We went out to eat that night so Brian had some good pre-race food.

The race was at Naylor's Beach, which was about an hour and 45 minutes away (although I am still wondering where the beach was?!). It was a USA Triathlon sanctioned event so there were a lot of good athletes. Brian was apprehensive leading up to it because he did not feel adequately prepared. His cold didn't help either.

However, apparently his lack of confidence (and lack of sleep!) did not affect him because he performed awesome! He placed 20th overall and 5th in his age group with a time of 1:31:16. There were 117 male competitors. He was just a minute and a half off placing in his age group.

The race started one hour late due to fog. It was so thick they could not even seen the buoys when they swam. Brian said he had to stop a few times and focus and look around. Not good! But he was pleased with his swim for the most part, especially since he was unable to do any open water swims leading up to the event. The bike portion was difficult. Twenty-six miles is a long way and Brian has never done a race that long. He felt okay and averaged about 20 mph, which is what he expected. His run is always his strongest portion. He had the 5th fastest time out of all the runners in all the divisions at the race. He managed to pass quite a few people and move back up.

Helping Daddy prepare

Look at that fog

Coming out of the water (on the "beach")

The bike part was tough

Great job Brian!

So all in all, it was a good experience. He's still sore from the race and had to drive all the way to North Carolina that night for work the next day. Not fun! He is excited for training next year. He figures, if I can do this well without training a ton, just think what I can do if I REALLY try! Oh no. A fellow Marine approached him at the event and asked if he was interested in the Marine Corps Triathlon team. He contacted the coordinator yesterday and hopes to hear back soon.

The race motivated me too. I miss racing! I've been running a lot lately, with Caden in the jogging stroller, and am almost back to pre-baby shape. I want to run another half marathon next spring...maybe Virginia Beach? It looks like a fun race. Laurie and I always talked about doing it and now that I live here, it's only three hours away.

That's all for now. I tacked on two more fun pictures of Caden. We play peekaboo with him in the kitchen. He'll hear us calling him and come sneaking around the corner, straining his neck to see us. It's so cute. He also enjoys playing with my curtains lately. Hmmm...I have learned that a baby's favorite toys are usually not toys.

Peekaboo!


Drapes are fun

Thanks for checking in! This message was long...sorry!

Race Season Begins

It's race season for Brian. He had a race last weekend where he did the running legs of a duathlon and his teammate did the mountain biking portion. It was chilly so we had to bundle Caden up. He wore a cute outfit from his Great Aunt Cindy...this kid is stylin!

Bear Hat


They finished 4th in their division. Brian ran 6-minute mile splits and was fairly pleased with his performance. He competes in the Naylor's Beach Triathlon this Sunday. We're going to camp the night before. That will be interesting with an 8-month-old. We all have colds so hopefully that subsides by the weekend.

Fredericksburg Off-Road Duathlon




Caden talks constantly lately. It sounds like he says "ma ma" but of course it's just babble to him. I'll just pretend it's real. We took him on an 80-minute hike on Sunday. He was awake the entire time and loved it. He's such an outdoorsy kid.

Quantico Creek


Playing after the hike


We got some sad news that my brother's dog Riley was involved in a farm accident this weekend. She died Saturday night. We're thinking of you Mom, Dad, and Jeff, and of course, sweet Riley.

We love you Riley

Grandparents Day

Good morning. I don't really have much to report...just thought I'd say hi!

Everything here is fine. My parents left Tuesday. They gave Caden only about 1,000 hugs and kisses over the course of the week! Dad handled the traveling okay but is still recovering from his surgery. We're so glad he made the trip anyway. It was neat that they were here for Grandparents Day. We didn't do a whole lot...just a lot of QT here at home. We enjoyed a lot of good meals (and ice cream), toured the Marine Corps Museum, and walked down at the Quantico dock. I also drove them around downtown D.C. before dropping them off at the airport. We got to see most of the monuments and buildings from the road and about 500 police cars, since it was September 11. We couldn't see the White House so we'll have to try for that next time.

Caden isn't crawling yet. He has seemed so close for weeks now! He manages to get into everything anyway by rolling or running around in his walker. He does aerobics in his crib at night and usually wakes up a few times for no reason really. That's not really helping me get good sleep, but oh well. That's the name of the game being a parent, right?!

Favorite toy: Similac Lid

He always laughs when I shake my hair at him

Baby in a Basket

Grandparents Day


Our First Date in a LONG time!

On the Move

Brian returned from his 2-week trip to San Diego so it's good to have him home. He was surprised at how much more mobile Caden is. He gets up on all fours easily but rolls out of it or goes backward instead of forward. We have also noticed that church is increasingly difficult because he seems to have ants in his pants 24/7! His top 4 teeth recently came in so he's happier. I'm also pleased that we have settled into a comfortable routine for napping, eating, etc. That helps him, and ME. He still loves his vegetables and tolerates fruit. (What kind of kid doesn't like sweet stuff?!)

Abby's visit was low-key and a lot of fun. We visited the National Zoo, hiked in a nearby park, made yummy meals, watched some movies, and spent a lot of time hanging out with Caden. I felt like I was on vacation too. My parents are planning to visit us Sept 5th-11th. Dad is still recovering from his surgeries but is hoping to make the trip.

Happy Birthday to Brian's sister Shannon! And Happy Labor Day to everyone. We hope you're enjoying the holiday.

Just out of reach

Sitting on his own

Hiking in Prince William Park (He is getting HEAVY)


Hair standing on end


Abby playing with Caden


Up on all fours, playing peekaboo with Daddy

Teething

Nobody warned us that we'd feel the pain of teething as much as Caden! The poor little guy is getting in all 4 of his top ones at the same time. One cut through last week and the others are close behind. We just want to take all his pain for him. I suppose this will be the first of many times we'll feel that way.

He's a tough cookie though and is still surprisingly happy most of the time. He's soooo close to crawling, I think he can taste it. Brian left today for a 2-week trip to San Diego and we're sure he'll be crawling by the time he returns. He also sits by himself fairly easily, sometimes for a few minutes at a time.

Lately, we've been busy with visitors, including Brian's parents and his sister Shannon. They really helped make Virginia seem a little closer to Iowa. Caden didn't seem to mind the sightseeing. My friend Abby arrives the 28th and my parents will probably be out sometime in September. Can't wait! We love visitors so let me know if you're interested...


Just messing around


Taking a break at the MC Museum


Checking out DC with Brian's parents


Teasing Grandpa Pat


Catching some shuteye


Laughing at Aunt Shannon's antics

Playing with his rings (chewing mostly)

Showing off his cuteness (His expression reminds me of photos of me as a child...am I right, Mom?!)

Living in Virginia

Hey everyone!

I've decided to jump into the 21st century and try out blogging. I love to keep in touch with you all and my friend Nolan suggested that this might be a viable option. Just go to http://teamgeraghty.blogspot.com/ and you can see my new blogs. You can check it out any time and this way, I won't overload your inbox. I'll try to update it every other week or so and will occasionally send out an email to let you know there's new postings.

I haven't updated you in a while so I'll take this opportunity to fill you in. Virginia is GREAT! We are pleasantly surprised at how quickly we have adjusted. We moved into our townhome on base July 4 and our belongings finally arrived July 16. We're missing some items and a few things are broken, but nothing major.

It's been a few weeks so we're finally feeling settled. All I have left is to organize the basement and some closets. The house is brand new and more square footage than our last house. I planted some flowers right away and got our pictures up on the wall, so it's feeling like home. Here are some updated pictures of the house actually decorated.

Front


Deck


Great Room


Living Room


Brian Shrine


Caden's Room


Thus far, we love living on base. We're close to everything and Brian often bikes to work. Our neighbors are incredibly outgoing and friendly. We're in E6-E9 enlisted housing so that means they're our age or older and everyone seems to be married with kids. They always include us in their BBQs and gatherings.

Overall, we don't have very many negative things to say, except that it is very hot here and the traffic on the interstates can be nasty. But even that isn't so bad...we're getting used to it.

Brian and I have both started training again. Brian is scheduled to do the Naylor's Beach Triathlon on Sept 30 and the Marine Corps Marathon Oct 28. I haven't signed up for any races but am running with our neighbor, Lyndsey. She's never ran previously but has improved quickly and gives me a run for my money on offroad trails. Better yet, we're a lot alike and get along great.

Now for the most important subject...CADEN! He seemed to adjust seamlessly and is such a happy-go-lucky kid. He's 6 1/2 months old now. We recently started feeding him some vegetables (he likes peas). He is tall for his age...I have to buy him 12-month sleepers. He already reaches for everything he shouldn't so I can only imagine the havoc that will arise when he starts crawling.

Good morning!


Chilling with Daddy


Pool


Toes are fun


What a cheese ball


Brian's job is going well. He has been overwhelmed with work so they have wasted no time getting him involved. He has some trips coming up so I'm thinking about flying home while he's gone. That would be sometime in October/November.

That's plenty for now. Just wanted to update you on the basics. We really do like it here and feel fortunate that everything has went so smoothly. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.